


Beware Of Pretty Faces

by nerdwegian



Series: Tumblr Prompts [27]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, Pre-slash at best, Spies & Secret Agents, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-08
Updated: 2014-07-08
Packaged: 2018-02-08 00:41:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1920192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdwegian/pseuds/nerdwegian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Can you calm the fuck down, pal? I'm not here to hurt you!"</p>
<p>(Tumblr prompt: Steve/Bucky, elevator meeting.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beware Of Pretty Faces

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Laura for the beta! <3

Steve takes one, two, three deep breaths, before throwing himself out of the ventilation shaft. He grunts weakly when he hits the crossbeam two floors down, but his fingers find the hold they need to stop his descent. From there, it's easy to attach his rappelling line, and lower himself the rest of the way to the top of the elevator car.

Even though he's checked it dozens of times before, Steve crouches down and goes over his equipment again--it's a terrible habit; Natasha's been making fun of him for it for years--before glancing at his watch. 10:56 p.m. Mr. Dylan, if he's on time--and he always is, will arrive from his underground garage and enter the private elevator in four minutes. And Steve will have the briefcase Fury tasked him with getting in five.

Steve is just getting his tranquilizer ready, when suddenly there's a distinctly un-subtle thump next to him, and he whirls around to find a man dressed in black standing there. His eyes twinkle with amusement, he's got a sparse amount of very attractive stubble across a square jaw, and he's watching Steve with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

For a split second, they just stare at each other, before Steve's brain catches up with him, and he spins, sweeping his leg out to trip the man in black.

The man easily jumps and dodges Steve's attack, and he just keeps on going, blocking the punch Steve tries to deliver as he comes out of his crouch. "Whoa," he says, like that's going to make Steve stop, and then sidesteps another kick.

Steve's mind is racing. This guy isn't Dylan's security--if he was, Steve would know, and he would probably also have shot Steve on sight. He's not SHIELD, so who is he? He's limber and loose, moving fluidly in the tight space to avoid and deflect Steve's attacks--but he fights completely defensively too, not striking Steve back, or maybe he's just waiting for his moment?

"Okay, enough!" the guy says, catching the next punch Steve throws with his left hand, gloved fingers closing over Steve's fist in a shockingly strong grip. Steve huffs a frustrated breath and tries to pry him off with his other hand, but then the man spins them and pins Steve up against the elevator shaft wall. "Can you calm the fuck down, pal? I'm not here to hurt you!"

Steve grits his teeth, and it's on the tip of his tongue to express his disbelief at that statement, but--the man still hasn't actually fought back. "Then what are you here for?" he hisses.

Just then, the elevator doors open and both men freeze. Steve watches the guy's face as his eyes travel downwards to the roof of the elevator car, and then he has to let Steve go so he can push off the wall when the elevator starts moving.

Steve eyes the access hatch, then the guy, and is about to attack again when the man in black holds up his hands. "Briefcase is all yours."

Steve narrows his eyes in distrust, but then before he really has a chance to react, the man in black pulls a gun with a long silencer at the end, wrenches open the access hatch in one fluid movement, and fires two shots into the car.

"Oh my god," Steve blurts out, leaning over just in time to see Dylan's body hit the floor of the car, blood already pooling around his head. "What the hell did you just do?"

The man in black shrugs. "My job," he says, dropping down into the elevator car and pushing the emergency stop button, apparently not giving a shit that he's stepping in Dylan's blood. Bending down, he grabs Dylan's briefcase and tugs on it. "I assume you've got something to cut this chain with?" he asks, gesturing to the handcuff holding the chain to Dylan's body. "I mean, we could take the whole hand, but it'll be less messy to just cut the chain."

Steve blinks, because the whole situation is surreal. What's he supposed to do, here? Dylan was a bad (bad, bad, BAD) guy, and his death won't bring anything but cheers at the office--but this isn't how Steve works, and it certainly wasn't his mission!

"Well?" the man in black prompts. "Do you want this briefcase or not?"

"Why do you care?" Steve asks, but he still swings down from the roof of the car and digs out the mouse hole device. He takes care not to step in the blood though, unwilling to leave behind footprints.

"You want the briefcase, I wanted this guy dead. I got what I came here for, seems only fair you do too."

"How the hell do you even know that?" Steve asks, standing up, briefcase now in hand.

The man in black doesn't answer. He just looks at Steve, and Steve gets the distinct feeling he's being evaluated. Steve suddenly becomes acutely aware that the man in black still has his gun in his hand, and that Steve's own firearm is in his ankle holster, and even though he's a very quick draw, he's not that quick. Tension builds for a moment, before the guy suddenly looks away and makes a _whatever_ motion.

"Well. If nothing else, this turned out to be an interesting job," the guy says. "See you around, fed."

Steve's mouth is open to protest, but the guy doesn't seem interested in listening anymore; he just swings himself back up through the access hatch, blood dripping along the way.

"What the hell," Steve mumbles, and climbs up after him. "Who _are_ you?"

The man in black is already several feet up, holding onto Steve's rappelling line. He pauses to look down at Steve, and then gives him another one of those amused smirks that looks horrifyingly good on his face. "How 'bout you call me Bucky?"

"Bucky," Steve mutters, mostly to himself, shaking his head in disbelief again, because it wasn't the guy's _name_ he wanted. "Sure. Yeah. Bucky. Okay."

When he looks back up, Bucky's pried open the pair of doors by the crossbeam where Steve's line is attached, and is climbing out of the elevator shaft. Steve wonders if he's planning on leaving bloody footprints all the way out of the building.

"This was fun," Bucky calls down to him. "We should do it again sometime."

Then he reaches into the elevator shaft and cuts Steve's rappelling line, before disappearing from view.

Steve watches the line land in a heap at his feet and sighs heavily. "Yeah. Let's do this again sometime."

End.


End file.
